Chapter 7
Seven
It’s just like Charlotte to tell parents we can host a graduation party, where both of us will be chaperoning, and then fuck off to Boca without so much as a heads-up.
Just a short text stating she’ll be gone for a week was all I got less than an hour before Rhys told his friends they could start arriving.
I don’t know what it is about our house, or us, that makes the other parents feel like we’re capable of keeping over thirty new graduates in line, but somehow, our place always gets offered up as the location for everyone to hang out whenever they celebrate something big.
It’s an unspoken understanding that the kids will drink, so all of us parents feel like they might as well do it where they can crash when they’re tired, and we know the liquor isn’t coming from some random “ hey, mister” at a gas station.
Charlotte wanted a big house where we didn’t have neighbors right on top of us, and I guess I’m thankful for that because even though the lieutenant of the Neighborhood Oriented Policing Team’s son will be in attendance, the last thing we need is nosy neighbors complaining about the noise and potentially sending an officer out who won’t turn a blind eye to underage drinking.
As I clean the grill after making hot dogs and cheeseburgers, I frown across the backyard at my son, who is standing too close to a petite blonde I’ve never seen before.
They’re both wet from swimming, and he’s grinning at her like they have a secret no one knows.
Taking a pull from my beer, I try to tamp down the anger that rises beneath my skin as he tickles her before launching them both into the pool.
It’s completely inappropriate.
Then again, I almost kissed Lucy on prom night, which is way more unacceptable.
It’s been two weeks.
Two weeks of avoiding her at all costs.
I know the cheer team won Nationals—due to my unhealthy obsession of stalking Lucy’s Iconic profile—and I was prepared to text her a congratulations before I nearly threw my phone across the room to stop myself.
Rhys has been spending more time at her house, as well, so it’s like she’s been actively avoiding me, too.
But I didn’t think Lucy would go so far as to not show up to the graduation party.
Regret runs rampant through my mind. I never meant to make things so awkward between us.
I just… acted in the moment that night. She was right there.
So beautiful. So warm. Surrounding me with her vanilla and lilac scent.
Her whispered, “Yes, sir,” plays in my fantasies as I stroke myself to completion.
Then I try desperately not to throw up over how sick I am.
She’s eighteen-fucking-years-old, Lawson. You have to stop.
Yet, here I am again, wondering about her and where she’s at. Why is she not here? Why is my son flirting with another girl so openly?
Did they break up, and he just didn’t tell me?
Is that why the girls from Lucy’s cheerleading team are sneering at Rhys and whoever the blonde is?
It’s none of my business. I keep repeating it over and over, even though my son’s actions are reminiscent of his mother’s, and his girlfriend deserves a hell of a lot better than that.
“Thanks for hosting the party tonight, Mr. Morgan!” Clarissa’s—one of Lucy’s teammates—bubbly voice cuts through my thoughts.
“No problem. Hey, where is Lucy tonight? And who’s the girl with Rhys?” I try to ask as casually as I can.
Clarissa’s eyes slide to the pool as her brows furrow.
“Some chick from Fairmont. She’s been showing up at all the parties.
No idea who keeps inviting her.” Her eyes slowly glide back to mine.
“Lucy should be here later. She’s celebrating with her family right now.
Gonna be real interesting if she walks in on that.
” The raven-haired girl jerks her head toward my son before smiling mischievously as she picks up a skewer of fruit. “Where is Mrs. Morgan tonight?”
Probably drunk off her ass by now and getting fucked by the guy who cuts our grass.
“Went to check on the house in Florida. There was a… la ndscaping emergency,” I lie, glaring at the blonde who hangs onto Rhys’ shoulders in the pool as she attempts to climb on for a game of chicken against another couple.
“Oh. Well, we women must take care of those landscaping emergencies. Maybe you could help me out sometime? Your lawn always looks trimmed,” Clarissa suggests with a saccharine lilt.
My head swings back her way at the obvious innuendo in her voice, alarm bells going off like big red flags.
Her blue eyes sparkle with intent, causing my insides to churn uncomfortably.
Ignoring her, I turn away to go back into the house. “Rhys, I’ll be inside! You guys make sure not to get into any trouble. I’ll be checking in sporadically throughout the night.”
“Got it, Dad.” He doesn’t even spare me a glance as the girl falls off his shoulders, and they begin to play fight. Everything about it sits wrong with me. I almost pull out my phone to ask Lucy when she’ll be arriving so I can save her from having to ‘walk in on that’ as Clarissa put it.
It’s none of my fucking business.
The music and rambunctious teenagers are giving me a headache that only something stronger than beer will fix.
When they were younger, Rhys and Lucy broke into our liquor cabinet and stole a bottle, so I relocated all of the good shit to a place no one is allowed in if I’m not there.
So, instead of relaxing in my room—where I can finally go because Charlotte is gone, and I can exist in my own space again—I head to my office.
I can have the drink I so desperately need and work on some files for the coming week.
Plus, the windows overlook the pool, making it easier for me to keep an eye on what’s happening .
You have to keep an eye on everyone, Lawson. It’s not so you can see when Lucy shows up.
Lucy
“Hot damn, Lucy! Rhys is gonna come the second he sees you!”
“I’ll give you a ride if he can’t get the job done, Luce!”
With a snort and a roll of my eyes, I wave off the guys from the football team and make my way through the Morgans’ house in search of my boyfriend.
There are still a lot of people hanging around, even though the party is winding down, but these guys have literally seen me in a bathing suit.
If I’d known showing up in Rhys’ jersey would have caused such a commotion… well, I still would have done it.
The guys are completely harmless, so their comments don’t offend me. If I were blackout drunk, I know that any one of them would put me in a room to pass out safely and lock the door so no one could get in.
“Baaaabe! You’re hereee. Finally! Ugh, I tried waiting, buuut you took toooo long. I might be a liiiittle drunk,” Clarissa slurs as Nathan Whaters slings her over his shoulder and heads for the backyard, no doubt taking her to the pool house.
“Don’t put her on a top bunk, Nate! She rolls in her sleep!” I follow him to see if my boyfriend is in the pool. “Have you seen Rhys?”
“Not for a while!” he yells over his shoulder.
Clarissa picks her head up and grumbles, “You deserve better, Lucyyyyyy! ”
Deserve better? What’s that supposed to mean?
“Keg is gone!” someone yells from further in the house. A round of boos reverberates around the room, and people start calling their designated drivers to come get them.
“Hey, Lucy,” Bethany, one of the football players’ girlfriends, greets quietly as she sidles up to me while I grab a hard seltzer from the fridge.
“Hey, Beth. Looks like I missed the party.”
She looks over her shoulder, scanning the room as she tucks her short blonde hair behind one ear. “Listen, I’m not trying to cause drama, but that girl from Fairmont who’s been showing up at all our parties was here earlier. She was kinda all over Rhys in the pool.”
My skin prickles with irritation. Allison Sweeny has been a thorn in my side all year since she transferred from out of state to our rival school.
She’s been fawning all over Rhys like he’s the greatest thing ever to walk this earth since the second she saw him.
And while I’m confident my boyfriend loves me, it hasn’t escaped my attention that he doesn’t seem to mind her attention.
“Was she now? Did she leave?” I ask before chugging my seltzer—one of the few alcoholic beverages I’m able to drink without it making me feel like the walking dead the next day.
Bethany follows me to the hall, where I throw my purse into a large coat closet. “I’m not sure. I haven’t seen her for a while. But… Lucy… I haven’t seen Rhys for a while either.” Her big brown eyes are filled with pity.
A buzzing sound goes off in my ears as I stare at her. A heavy, crushing wave of anxiety swells beneath my lungs. “Where are Lawson and Charlotte? ”
She looks confused momentarily, her taupe brows drawing together before shooting up toward her hairline. “Oh! Mr. and Mrs. Morgan? Rhys’ mom hasn’t been here all night, and his dad went upstairs a while ago. He looked kinda mad at Rhys if I’m being honest.”
Something pricks my heart. “Did he see Allison hanging on Rhys?”
She nods.
I can’t decide which news upsets me more: Rhys letting another girl hang on him or Lawson watching it happen.
“Jimmy was saying that Rhys is really upset about you deciding to go to Berkeley, especially since you’re going earlier now for cheer.”
“Bethany, baby! Let’s go!” her boyfriend, Jimmy, shouts from the living room.
Her thick lashes flutter as she rolls her eyes. “I hope it’s nothing. But if it does end up being… something , just know that you deserve better. Besides, we’re all going off to college. There’s plenty of other fish in the sea.”
Bethany’s words don’t comfort me. As people begin to leave, with only a few who are too drunk to drive staying behind to pass out in the pool house, it becomes easier to see that neither my boyfriend nor Allison are amongst the crowd.
The stairwell leading to the basement is dark as I stand at the top of it, fingers twisting in the hem of Rhys’ jersey. My nerves are fried, and the bottoms of my feet tingle with pins and needles as I take the first step down.
There’s a night light at the bottom of the stairs for when River falls asleep playing video games so he doesn’t wake up in complete darkness. It casts the den in a gentle glow, guiding me to Rhys’ room.
At the first sign of the very thing I’m afraid of, my heart jumps into my throat, expanding to block my airway.
The door is cracked, and the sounds of a bed squeaking grow louder with each step I take.
It’s clear what’s happening. The familiar sounds of my boyfriend’s groans join barely concealed squeaks that are obviously female, but I can’t stop my feet from moving.
Some insane part of me needs to see it to confirm my worst fear.
My lungs burn with their need for air as I gently push his door open. Blonde hair cascades down a naked back. A bare ass as Rhys pounds into her from below. His whispered words of encouragement as he brings her closer to release.
Air fills my lungs sharply, drawing their attention to where I stand, frozen in the doorway.
“Fuck! Lucy! This isn’t what it looks like!” Rhys’ clichéd excuse fills the room as he all but throws Allison off him.
I’m already halfway down the hall, furiously wiping at the hot tears that catch on my lower lashes, when I hear him shout, “Where the fuck are my pants?”
His heavy footsteps are loud behind me as I climb the stairs two at a time, trying to escape before he can catch up to me and try to feed me his bullshit excuses as to why he’s cheating.
The living room is empty when I reach it, and a curse falls from my lips when I remember I was dropped off and don’t have a way to leave.
River’s room is at the end of the hall, and knowing he’s at a friend’s house tonight, I make a run for it. No one will care if I lock myself inside until Rhys passes out, and then I can call someone to come get me.
“Lucy! Wait! Let me explain!” Rhys is nearly on my heels as I fly through the house.
“There’s nothing to explain! It’s pretty simple, your dick was in another girl. Got it. Message received!” I scream back.
Thick tears cause my vision to blur, and I know I’ll never make it to River’s room before he catches me.
“Lucy, please!”
We aren’t supposed to go into Lawson’s office without his permission, but he’s permitted me to organize it, and I take that as a good enough excuse to try the door since it’s closer than River’s.
Relief floods through me to find it open, and I rush into the room, slamming the door behind me and locking it just as Rhys’ fists meet the heavy wood.